Links and Books by Jo Michaels

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Design Lesson Number 2 - Printing

Today, I talk about printing. For you indie authors, you need to listen up just in case you decide to print on CreateSpace or another site and wish to DIY. Remember, our goal is to not make it look DIY.

Bleeds, safeties, and folds, here we come!

What is a bleed? Bleed refers to the area around your artwork that is intended to be cut off. You want to make sure to extend any background color or other elements that you don't mind losing some of all the way to the edge of the template. MACHINES cut the book cover and they aren't as accurate as we'd like them to be sometimes. You will LOSE 1/4" of your artwork so your canvas needs to be 1/4" bigger (1/8" on all sides) than your final size. In other words, a 5.25x8 book needs to be designed at 5.50x8.25. Got it? Avoid bars (frames) that can be lost completely or cut wrong and be odd sizes.

Okay, you have that down. Now, what's a safety? Safety refers to the area that will not be touched by the machine even if it is 1/8" off. Your safety margins should go 1/8" INSIDE the CUT line (NOT the BLEED line). This gives you peace of mind that your words will still be intact when your book rolls off the presses. Be safe, not sorry.

Folds are self-explanatory. Remember that where the fold is, the safety should be 1/8" on EITHER side of that line. There is no guarantee that the paper will be cut just right and you need the flexibility of a schoochable fold. I love making up words...

On to the example!!!

This is what a standard template looks like. Take a minute and take it all in.

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